Electronic safe locks are popular for use by establishments such as hotels, in individual rooms, for guests to secure and have ready access to their valuables. In general, a registered hotel guest is given a "key" or access card which can be inserted into the safe door to activate the electronic combination lock. Such safe locks are advantageous because they permit users to select their own unlocking number or combination known only to the person selecting and inputting the number. One problem with such user determined combinations is that the user can forget the selected combination and be unable to open the safe. To solve this problem, some such locks provide a key operated mechanism which can override the electronic lock. As can be appreciated, this solution significantly diminishes if not completely eliminates the security advantage of having a combination lock. Generally, a wall will ahve to be broken and/or the safe lock damaged in order to obtain access to the locked valuables.
It would therefore be desirable to have an alternate or bypass mechanism by which the safe can be unlocked without damage to the lock or its surroundings. The bypass mechanism, however, must not destroy the security of the safe itself and therefore should also be a secure locking system. It is also desirable that the bypass locking system be hidden such that only authorized persons, for example, hotel security employees, are able to activate the bypass lock using a secured combination. The mechanical bypass lock of the present invention provides the needed secondary unlocking mechanism while maintaining the necessary security of the safe.